Faith Hope & Love

I would like to end the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit by looking more closely at the fruit of the Spirit that we must propagate to correctly use the gifts with faith, hope and love.

As I mentioned before, “The fruit of the Spirit we propagate and eat so we can use the gifts we give away!  In other words, the fruit is needed to be cultivated in our lives and then we can freely give gifts for the edification of others.”

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  (Galatians 5:22-23). 

“Fruit versus gifts. Fruit is something that inevitably appears on a healthy tree. Gifts, however, are freely and unconditionally given regardless of the ability of the receiver to use them well. This should tip us off as to the Kingdom value placed on the gifts and the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It isn’t that the ‘gifts’ are unimportant (far from it) it’s just that they are nowhere near as significant as the ‘fruit’…We bless our world, glorify Jesus and find true fulfillment so much more when we are bearing fruit. The exercising of gifts and ministry from a ‘fruit filled life’ is much healthier for us, but even more so for others!” 

From my friend Wanda Rust: “We are made up of body, soul, and spirit.  The church is also made up of body, soul, and Spirit, which must work together.  God showed me that you can only get the fruit as you see it listed. The first that you get is the love of God, then joy, then peace, then comes long suffering, which causes you to become gentle, which produces goodness.  Then you will receive the faith that you need and from that comes meekness.  He, then tempers all of that to make you have the heart of Jesus.”

Therefore, if we first grow in the fruits then those fruits bear seed to correctly harvest the gifts that we minister to others with.  The Lord gave a prophetic word for the operation: “But seek Me in it all ~ with faith, hope & love you will bring the captives home.  My favor is upon you for greatness!  Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15).

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.  (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Wow, I want to bring the captives home (the saved and unsaved that need our helpful gifts to grow into God’s callings).  And, I want to have His favor on me for greatness in His Kingdom.  But how does faith, hope and love accomplish this?  Through the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

If we neglect to use the gifts through the action nouns of the fruit of the Spirit, then the harvest (or desired outcome) could be stunted or ruined.  A difficult lesson was learned by me in my formative years of hearing God’s voice.  It took over two years to reconcile the situation because I did not use the fruit of the Spirit to minister to a woman.

Here is the story:  My prayer partner and I had a small prayer group.  I was zealous for the gifts that were starting to bloom through prayer; however, Jesus taught me a painful lesson as I started hearing private things about His children.

Prior to being introduced to a woman who attended our prayer get-together, the Lord confided in me about her health.  I do not recall all the details but during the introductions she revealed to my friend Gloria of what God had told me in secret.  I overheard the conversation and that triggered me to carelessly release what God had said to me.  Needless to say, the woman was horrified, and I was extremely embarrassed at my blunder regarding her private situation.  I tried to apologize for my sin but to no avail; she left the meeting. 

For two years I prayed how to reconcile the situation.  Then God gave me a letter (from Him) for this saint, and I had to deliver it.  I told her that when I met her, the gifts were just starting to manifest through me.  Hence, in my foolish and childish excitement that I heard God correctly, my mouth flew open like a fool!  Instead of waiting for the Lord to instruct me what to do with the information, I hurt her.  I apologized again and gave her the letter from the Lord, which included Psalm 81:6-7 “I removed his shoulder from the burden; his hands were freed from the baskets.  You called in trouble, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah.”

To my disbelief, this woman of God told me that Psalm 81:6-7 was her lifetime verse, and she knew that the Lord had spoken and arranged this reconciliation.  She wanted to know what else I had heard about her situation, and I was blessed to tell her that the disease was averted by the actions that she had taken. 

In God’s own words: “She was to rejoice in the choices that she had made.”  It was a heartfelt resolution to a painful situation between two ladies of prayer.  I am grateful for the learning experience, even though I am still ashamed of my foolish mistake.  I have never made that error again.

1 Corinthians 13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 

The gifts and the callings are irrevocable (Romans 11:29); unchangeable or unalterable.  Think about what that means.  I can possess and operate a spiritual gift even if I am in sin.  Really?  Yes, really as my story represents.  I had acted out of pride and selfishness, not love.  If I had used the fruit of the Spirit, I could have ministered to the woman who was in need in a much more mature fashion.  I would have saved her two years of unknown torment needless to say what it did to me.     

You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? … Therefore, by their fruits you will know them.  (Matthew 7:16 & 7:20).

Whatever the gift is or the many gifts that He has bestowed upon us; we use them with faith and love knowing that they are not our natural abilities.  They have been gifted to us not only for our own hope but definitely for the edification/hope of others when they hear about the marvelous works of God.  Use them with faith, hope and love.

I have read that “nowhere in scripture are the nine gifts specifically defined as they would be in a dictionary. They often overlap and operate together.”  There are variations of gifts for His different children and our callings.  Just as in Cindy ‘s Pot of Colors vision, He pours different colors into our pots for our various callings.

Cindy’s Pot of Colors.

I see the different types of spiritual gifts as varied as there are people and how the Lord manifests them to us, conceivably the same gift but in a different manifestation. 

For instance, I have the gift of scripture addresses (certainly I cannot find that gift anywhere in the Bible), but it could be a variation of the Word of Knowledge.  However, it is certainly not a natural ability, and it came upon me when I was baptized in the Spirit.  I am sure there are many other differences of gifts that people have that are from the Holy Spirit, but they are not listed specifically in the Bible.

Similar to the colors in heaven are our gifts; like a kaleidoscope of swirling colors to make up the body of Christ.  We just see certain colors with certain gifts, but God sees the whole kaleidoscope! 

For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.  Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.  (Romans 12:4-8).

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.  There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.  And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.  But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all.  (1 Corinthians 12:4-7).

In conclusion, use your gifted gems, your tools with utmost care.  Be a good steward of the gifts.  Remember Who you represent.  Keep them sharpened (use them for His glory), clean (no sin) and shiny (prepared, manicured, looked after).  But most of all use your gems with faith, hope and love to bring the captives home for the grandeur of His Name.